Photos: Hallowed space now workspace

A former church building is resurrected as a local media company's headquarters

Updated 9:38 am, Friday, October 12, 2012

Photo: Philip Kamrass

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An original stained glass window remains on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

An original stained glass window remains on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8,

The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8,

View of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

View of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

Photo: Philip Kamrass

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The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8,

The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8,

View of the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

View of the production floor of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass /

Luke Shane, left, and Thomas Armitage, right, work in the public relations office of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

Luke Shane, left, and Thomas Armitage, right, work in the public relations office of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on

A soundstage now occupies the space that was formerly an altar in Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

A soundstage now occupies the space that was formerly an altar in Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012

An original stained glass window remains in what is now a hallway to the public relations office of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

An original stained glass window remains in what is now a hallway to the public relations office of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of

A control room with mixing board overlooks a soundstage adjacent to the space that was formerly an altar in Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

A control room with mixing board overlooks a soundstage adjacent to the space that was formerly an altar in Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in what used to be the sanctuary of the former St.

Part of a former altar now stands in the entranceway of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. The movie "Labyrinth" plays on a screen on the production floor, inside the former church sanctuary, right. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

Part of a former altar now stands in the entranceway of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. The movie "Labyrinth"

Part of a former altar now stands in the kitchen of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

Part of a former altar now stands in the kitchen of Overit Media's new home on New Scotland Avenue, in the former St. Teresa of Avila church on Monday Oct. 8, 2012 in Albany, NY. (Philip Kamrass / Times

The owners of Overit Media tried to retain the architectural integrity of St. Teresa de Avila Church when they transformed it into office space. The interior of the church is shown during construction.

The owners of Overit Media tried to retain the architectural integrity of St. Teresa de Avila Church when they transformed it into office space. The interior of the church is shown during construction.

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The sanctuary of St. Teresa de Avila Church at 435 New Scotland Ave., Albany before it was remodeled to become the production floor of Overit Media.

The sanctuary of St. Teresa de Avila Church at 435 New Scotland Ave., Albany before it was remodeled to become the production floor of Overit Media.

Photos: Hallowed space now workspace

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While the fate of St. Patrick's Church in Watervliet remains a question, Overit Media has ensured that another religious landmark will remain part of the Albany cityscape.

The company bought St. Teresa of Avila church on New Scotland Avenue last year and remodeled it over the course of eight months to fit its needs as a high-tech business.

CEO Dan Dinsmore said he sought a church when it came time to a find bigger office for the growing company. Locally, Overit created and produced the ad campaign for Catseye Pest Control. Nationally, it had a hand in launching Digital Gameday, a website for editing game footage, and marketing a panoramic video tool for iPhones called Kogeto, among other projects. Overit was founded in 1993 and was formerly located in Center Square. The company has 38 employees, up from 20 a year ago.

Dinsmore and his wife and co-owner, Michelle Dinsmore, enjoy the history of religious architecture and wanted Overit to be a model for how to use outdated churches. He won't say what he spent on the project, but Dinsmore said Overit could never have accomplished the same thing with new construction.

"We didn't want to harm the integrity of the architecture. We wanted to keep elements of the church, not tear it up," Dinsmore said. "When you walk in, it still has the feeling of a church."

More Information

Overit Media open house

Where: 435 New Scotland Ave., Albany

When: 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19

Info: Open to the public. The deadline to RSVP is Friday, Oct. 11. Send an email to rsvp@overit.com if you would like to attend.

The sanctuary remains an open space as a production floor. The pews were replaced with desks and tables, where designers, graphic artists and marketers work on ad campaigns, public relations and website design projects.

With an eye to preservation, the oak from the pews was used for baseboards and desks and incorporated into Overit's soundstage. The Dinsmores, working with 3tarchitects of Albany, found new uses for other church artifacts. Part of the altar stands in the entranceway; another portion serves as a table in the kitchen. Stained glass windows are accentuated by paint colors and artwork the Overit staff chose to decorate their new space. The altar space is a multimedia facility, recording studio and conference space for 70 people. In all, Overit had 12,000 square feet to work with.

Dan Dinsmore said he hopes St. Patrick's Church will remain standing. Nigro Companies, owners of the property, has proposed razing the church, rectory, school and six homes to make way for a Price Chopper and two other buildings. It is currently the subject of a state environmental assessment review. A report is due Thursday.